Peter Sharp not to blame for Sharks' poor season, says Shane Flanagan

Suspended Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan has leapt to the support of Sharks caretaker Peter Sharp, saying players at the embattled club also needed to take responsibility for a woeful season that threatens to leave them gripping the wooden spoon.

The Sharks' campaign was left on life support by a 26-0 defeat to Manly at the weekend – a third straight game without scoring – and captain Paul Gallen said one of the reasons for the poor season was players were not giving their all for Sharp because of a perception that as a reluctant head coach he "isn't putting 100 per cent in".

Gallen met with Sharp and Cronulla chief executive Steve Noyce to clear the air on Monday but said he had not spoken to any of his teammates since making the comments on Sunday.

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Sharp, a former mentor at Manly and short-lived joint-venture Northern Eagles, was elevated to be Flanagan's replacement this year after the head coach was sidelined by the NRL over alleged shortcomings in management to do with the club's 2011 supplements program.

But Flanagan said on Monday that Sharp, who has stepped up from an assistant coaching job at Remondis Stadium, did not deserve to be blamed for Cronulla's failures.

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"He was put in that position and he's doing the best he can," Flanagan said. "He's a good bloke and a good coach.

"A lot of things have transpired to be in this position today ... plenty of injuries. His situation is he would prefer to be an assistant coach but he's not.

"I think what Gal said is what him and Sharpy probably spoke about. Sharpy probably didn't want to do the job, but he is doing it. In the end, Sharpy is not running out there. I'm sure Sharpy is coaching them well during Monday to Friday. The players have got to have a little bit of responsiblity there as well."

In a co-hosting capacity on Triple M radio on Sunday, Gallen responded to questions about whether Cronulla would consider bringing in an up-and-coming coach for the rest of the season in a bid to reinvigorate the side. He said he and Sharp had discussed six weeks ago whether they could recruit Canberra assistant Brett Kimmorley.

The Sharks have insisted, though, that they won't be making an changes to the coaching structure with 11 matches to go, and Flanagan also defended the club's initial appointment of Sharp to fill in for him.

"Would a younger coach handle it any better? I don't think so," Flanagan said. "Was a younger coach available at the time? I don't know. But it's all in hindsight.

"From the club's point of view as well, my appeal [against a 12-month ban imposed by the NRL] went well and truly into April, so it was a tough situation for the club as well."

Flanagan ultimately aborted the appeal, allowing him to resume coaching in September – which will allow him to resume control midway through the finals series if Cronulla stands to be involved.

His suspension also forbids him having any involvement with the team, coaches and players, which Flanagan admitted was tough as their season slipped from bad to worse.

"I can't do anything," he said. "I can't help, so it's frustrating.

"The club will stick tight, it's a tough club. We just need to take a big deep breath. There are good people there and Sharpy's a good bloke. It's been a tough year. No one is really to blame. There's a lot of contributing factors. We've just got to make sure that we come out of it, and we will."

Gallen said he and Sharp had discussed a plan for the rest of the year they believed would help the team improve its 2-11 win-loss record.

"We had a good chat today and we have got a plan moving forward, Gallen said on Monday. "We are both passionate guys and we want to win some games of footy but it has been tough this year.

"I spoke to Sharpy yesterday and I think once Sharpy listened to my comments and my tone of voice without just reading the headlines, he understood where I was coming from. His pride has been hurt, there has been no doubt about that, by some of the comments today and we just have to move on.

"It's about results and we are not getting results, I am here putting my hand up and taking responsibility. It is my job to drag the rest of the boys along with me. We just need a little bit more direction and we are going to come up with some more direction for the team and make everyone more accountable for the rest of the year."